"This is only a sample of what I could do to you if I so chose. Get control of these children, without death or permanent injury, or you will spend the rest of your life so miserable you will wish you were dead. Are we clear?"
The pressure eased as fast as it had started. Only a low-grade headache remained, but Mr. Black ignored it and got back into his seat.
He seethed internally but kept his voice level and calm. "Yes, we are clear. If I can do this... if I can keep the kids in line, without killing any of them—"
"Or permanently damaging them."
"Right, or that. Will you help me with something?"
"If I can. What is it you seek?"
A dash of hope. A seed of luck.
"A miracle."
Chapter 46 – Lucy
The silver sphere glowed brighter each day. Lucy pressed it to her chest as she sang along with the music playing gently through her earphones. She hid the sphere in her pocket when Luke knocked and walked through her locked door.
She sent a pillow flying in his direction. "Dude, privacy."
Normally, Luke enjoyed a good pillow fight, but he let this one fall to his feet. He frowned. "We're being summoned. The guards are here to take us to our 'assignment.' They're in the living room, waiting."
"What? We're supposed to have the rest of the week. They said Sunday, and it's only Wednesday."
"What can I say? They're here now. Time to go." He then used sign language—something they hadn't done since they were kids—to tell her they needed to get away and activate the Freedom Fighters' escape plan.
She nodded and grabbed her jacket and backpack.
Before they left the dorm, Luke and Lucy turned on the two men escorting them.
With a front snap kick, Lucy disarmed one guard and planted her foot into his face with a side kick. He fell to the floor just as Luke finished off the other guard.
They picked up the guns, dragged the bodies to a utility closet and locked them inside.
Their actions synched perfectly after years of training together. Luke smiled and dusted off his hands. "You haven't lost it. Good job, Sis."
Lucy massaged kinks out of her wrists. "We need to get Gary and the gang for the first phase of the plan."
While the mandatory dorm time sucked, it did make it easy to find people. They split up, gathered the team, and regrouped in the meeting room.
Greg closed his eyes for a moment, then nodded and opened them. "We're clear. All systems are looped so that they can't see us." He reached for Gary's hand. "Be careful. Don't do anything stupid."
They hugged, and Lucy thought again about how many people would be hurt or killed, no matter how well their plan went. Her shoulders slumped. The responsibility of leading such a team weighed heavily on her.
Mary cleared her throat. "This is all very touching, but can we please go? I was in the middle of painting my toes and now they're all smudged."
Lucy rolled her eyes and searched the small crowd for Neil—their secret weapon. "Mary, honestly, it's freezing out there. You're wearing boots. No one gives a crap about your toes."
Gary smirked.
A minute later, Lucy, Gary, Mary and Neil headed out to start phase one of their escape. Luke stayed with the rest of the group to initiate the second phase. "Good luck, Sis. See you soon."
"You too. Be safe." Lucy led her team through campus to find Mr. Black.
Though it wasn't yet past curfew, unless they had good reason to be out, this many kids together would alert the guards that something was going down. They stayed in the shadows and avoided direct routes, taking paths through bushes and off the cobbled walkways to avoid detection.
Mr. Black liked to patrol this time of day to catch any stragglers who hadn't made it to their dorms. He'd be around somewhere.
Lucy glanced at her watch. "He might be getting a snack at the guards' break room."
Gary fidgeted with the zipper on his jacket. "How will we get there without getting caught? Maybe this isn't such a good idea."
Lucy scowled at him. "You're the one who recruited me, remember? Luke and I would be leaving right now if not for this plan, so we do it now or it doesn't happen. We just have to be careful."
A cold breeze blew through the four of them huddled behind the Student Center. Lucy shivered and zipped up her jacket. She peeked around the corner to the break room just across the corridor, but they had no other places left to hide. They'd be exposed for at least sixty seconds, assuming Mr. Black was even in there.
"We're just going to have to run for it," she said. "Head straight to the back door of the building. We'll sneak in that way and look for Mr. Black. Most of the guards should be at their posts right now, so we shouldn't run into anyone else." She peeked around one last time. "It's all clear. Ready? One, two, three—run!"